Pitt freshman cornerback Mason Alexander dies in automobile crash
Pitt freshman football player Mason Alexander, 18, died Saturday night after a car crash in his hometown of Fishers, Ind. Alexander enrolled in January after early graduation from Hamilton Southeastern High School, near Indianapolis, and had been participating in winter drills in preparation for spring practice that begins this month....
Pitt shooting goes cold late in loss to No. 19 Louisville
In the aftermath of Pitt’s 79-68 loss at No. 19 Louisville, there will be plenty of positive talk about how the Panthers actually carried a three-point lead into the game’s final seven minutes against one of the ACC’s best teams. Yes, there was a moment or two Saturday night when...
Slumping Pitt aims to manufacture late-season momentum vs. ranked Louisville
Three more regular-season games remain for Pitt before the ACC Tournament, and the slumping Panthers (who are 4-10 since Jan. 7) will need as strong of a showing as possible if any postseason aspirations are to be kept on life support. Next week, contests against N.C. State and Boston College...
Pitt TE Gavin Bartholomew looking to use NFL Combine as hair-raising chance to impress scouts
INDIANAPOLIS — Gavin Bartholomew doesn’t have the best stats among tight ends at the NFL Combine. He doesn’t have the top pedigree, either, among the 21 prospects at his position invited to attend the annual event. But the four-year starter from Pitt excels in one easy-to-detect area. Bartholomew arguably has...
2 Pitt DB transfers aim to prove themselves at Division I level
Coming out of University Prep in 2022, Rashan Murray did not find himself with a surplus of big-time collegiate opportunities to consider. Murray, an East Liberty native, was not a recipient of an offer from his hometown Pitt Panthers — or any Power 5 program, for that matter. After spending...
Pitt’s rally comes up short against Georgia Tech
With 1 minute, 15 seconds to play Tuesday against Georgia Tech, Pitt had managed to dig itself out of repeated holes, having trailed the vast majority of the night, to tie things up. But over the last 75 seconds, the Yellow Jackets scored the game’s final six points to secure...
For Jeff Capel, disappointment lingers as Pitt enters final stretch of regular season
Judging by Pitt coach Jeff Capel’s tone and demeanor when revisiting Saturday’s loss at Notre Dame, it could be deduced that some disappointment from the defeat lingers. Against the struggling Fighting Irish, the Panthers were porous defensively, allowing Notre Dame to shoot 56.3% from the floor in the 76-72 decision....
Pitt digs deep into transfer portal, high schools in hopes of rebuilding WR group
Kade Bell’s offense at Pitt calls for plenty of footballs in the air and enough speedy pass catchers with the skill to get open. Failing that, they need to have enough toughness to win 50-50 matchups with defenders. Those athletes who excel in both areas aren’t easy to find. So,...
Analysis: After loss to Notre Dame, Jeff Capel puts Pitt’s collapse into perspective
Jeff Capel made two statements after Pitt’s 76-72 loss at Notre Dame that puts the team’s almost total collapse into sharp focus. They are remarks from a veteran coach that explain how and why Pitt is likely headed toward its sixth postseason in Capel’s seven-year tenure without an NCAA Tournament...
Pitt loses to injured Notre Dame in damaging late-season loss
The frustration of a season gone bad was clear in the voice of Pitt assistant coach Jason Capel after the Panthers’ 76-72 loss to Notre Dame. With all of its goals at stake Saturday afternoon inside Purcell Pavilion, Pitt (16-11, 7-9 ACC) couldn’t keep up with a crippled Notre Dame...
Isaac Patterson, an All-Ohio safety, gives Pitt verbal commitment, its 2nd in class of 2026
Pitt added a second prospect to its class of 2026 on Friday when Isaac Patterson, a second-team All-Ohio defensive back, pledged to enroll next year. #AGTG 1000% COMMITTED ????????GO PANTHERS! #H2P pic.twitter.com/B0biqSMFF1— Isaac Patterson 3⭐️ DB (@IsaacPatt_) February 21, 2025 Patterson (6-foot, 180 pounds) recorded 52 tackles (three for loss)...
Pitt Take 5: Slumping Notre Dame next for Panthers, and they can’t afford to lose
There are five games remaining in Pitt’s regular season, but the last four might be beside the point. If Pitt loses to Notre Dame on Saturday at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Ind., that would be loss No. 11 for the Panthers (16-10, 7-8 ACC). Worse, it would be against...
‘Brutally honest,’ Pitt’s Ishmael Leggett’s message may be what team needs
Most everyone playing major-college basketball can shoot reasonably well, and most have the requisite strength and size to compete for rebounds and loose balls. And everyone on both sides wants to win. So, what can set Pitt apart from its opponents, especially now in the final two weeks of the...
Brandin Cummings jumps off bench, vaults into vital role in Pitt’s quest to reach NCAA Tournament
For most of this season, Pitt sat just outside the group of four or five elite teams in the ACC. Eighth place in the 18-team conference — which is where the Panthers (16-10, 7-8) stand at the moment — feels about right. But that’s not the goal, and now that...
Bill Hillgrove credits Gov. Josh Shapiro for hoops knowledge during Pitt broadcast
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro sat courtside Tuesday night and provided analysis during the broadcast of the Syracuse/Pitt game at Petersen Events Center. But it was no mere political stunt. Shapiro came to play, said longtime Pitt play-by-play man Bill Hillgrove. The governor joined Hillgrove and Curtis Aiken for the first...
4 players score in double figures as Pitt rallies to defeat Syracuse
No one inside Petersen Events Center is talking about it, but Pitt can’t afford more than one regular-season loss (maybe not even one) if it wants to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive. The Panthers continued to walk that tightrope Tuesday night, fighting back to defeat Syracuse, 80-69, before a...
Pitt’s late push to stack wins can’t be derailed against struggling Syracuse
When ESPN Bracketology expert Joe Lunardi posted his latest round of NCAA Tournament projections Monday afternoon, Pitt wasn’t among the last group of teams in the dance. They weren’t in the group of the “first four” teams out of it. They weren’t in the next group of four out, either....
Gov. Shapiro will be courtside for broadcast of Syracuse/Pitt at Petersen Events Center
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who threw out the first pitch at the Pittsburgh Pirates’ home opener in 2023, will be back in town Tuesday night, taking another swing in the sports world. Shapiro will sit courtside with longtime Pitt broadcasters Bill Hillgrove and Curtis Aiken at Petersen Events Center and...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel understands Miami victory only counts 1, and there’s more work to do
Two days after the fact, Jeff Capel was pleased Monday to point out many of the positive aspects of Pitt’s 74-65 victory against Miami. “We guarded the ball. We didn’t get blown by (on defense). I thought we had good close-outs, and we understood who the shooters were,” he said....
‘Never a question’: Pitt QB Eli Holstein always wanted to return while schools gauged his transfer interest
Pat Narduzzi did not holler or raise any kind of celebratory racket when quarterback Eli Holstein announced he was returning to Pitt for the 2025 season. “I never really told him I was coming back,” Holstein told TribLive on Sunday when he was a guest server at the Beth Shalom...
Bosnian freshman Amsal Delalic’s emergence from Pitt’s bench offers hope over season’s final month
Amsal Delalic recognizes the difference between basketball in the ACC and basketball in Europe. “It’s very different,” he said after scoring a season-high 14 points in Pitt’s 74-65 victory against Miami. “It’s a lot more contact, a lot more speed. It’s just all-around — I’m not going to say madness...
Pitt ends 4-game losing streak with victory against Miami
Jeff Capel was pleased with Pitt’s 74-65 victory Saturday against Miami, but he also recognizes the reality of his team’s situation. He was happy to see the four-game losing streak end in front of a Petersen Events Center crowd of 8,578. But he also told reporters after the game, “We...
Pitt Take 5: Tone of Panthers-Hurricanes game changes dramatically after only 2 years
Only two years ago, then-Miami coach Jim Larranaga climbed a ladder inside the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla., tore the last cord from the basket’s rim and held it in the air joyously. His team had defeated Pitt, 78-76, to claim the No. 1 seed in the 2023 ACC...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel says Jaland Lowe ‘most likely’ won’t play against Miami amid concussion symptoms
Panthers coach Jeff Capel said Thursday that Pitt point guard Jaland Lowe “most likely” won’t play Saturday against Miami after experiencing concussion symptoms Tuesday night during the game at SMU. Capel made his remarks during his radio show on 93.7 FM. In the second half of Pitt’s 83-63 loss, Lowe...
Penn State has 5 players invited to NFL Combine; Pitt will have 4 at event
Led by presumptive first-round picks Adbul Carter and Tyler Warren, Penn State had five players receive invitations to the annual NFL Scouting Combine, which will be held later this month in Indianapolis. Carter, a 6-foot-3, 252-pound defensive end, is viewed as one of the top players in the entire draft...
